Have you heard about the Swan-Millses
by Caitlin.G.Hughes
Summary: This story follows the same plot as have you heard about the Morgans but with a swan queen twist. I own nothing. This follows the life of police chief Emma Swan-Mills and her wife who are going through problems due to Emma's infidelity. One night while they are on the town they witness a murder and have to hide. What will happen when they are alone in the woods? rated M, pls review
1. Chapter 1

Emma waited anxiously for Regina to pick up the phone, but as Emma suspected it went to her voicemail. Her wife was always busy with work and even if she wasn't, it was guaranteed that she would answer the woman's calls.

-BEEP-"Hi, you've reached Regina Swan-Mills; I can't take your call at the moment so leave a message and have a wonderful day."-BEEP-

"H-hi, h-hello, it's me your wife…um…at least legally still your wife as recognized by the state of New York...I...uh…wanted to call to say hi as we are reaching the 3 month mark of us being separated and I thought that maybe…I don't know, it might be nice to get together as you know things like this only come around once in a lifetime. Oh… I saw the cover of New York Real estate and there you are Gina, beautiful as the day I met you, everywhere I go I see you; you are on every bus, news stand and taxi in this city. It's….um… really awesome how far you've come and how you climbed the ladder of success….I'm really proud of you Gina; It's amazing how you built your business into the premier real estate firm in New York. And I'm referencing the magazine here, of which I have five copies that way if….when we get back t-together you lose yours were covered."

-BEEP-"Hi, you've reached Regina Swan-Mills; I can't take your call at the moment so leave a message and have a wonderful day."-BEEP-

"…Anyway…look the p-point is that… the point is that I really messed up… I really miss you; it's killing me to know that I hurt you. It will haunt me for the rest of my days and I will always regret putting you through that but I would really like it if… you could maybe call me…. or if we could see each other… I hope you're getting the gifts and they aren't all total disasters… I know that the ice sculpture of a swan was a big mistake but to be fair I did tell them not to leave it if you weren't there. I will be filing a complaint….talking of which I have to get back to work; the NYPD is really slammed right now, it's hard being chief… well I just want to say I'm sorry and I lo-" –BEEP-

Emma decided to end her call there after all, she had said enough hopefully she didn't put her foot in her mouth too many times.

 **Across town in a luxurious apartment**

"It has 6 bedrooms and 2 washrooms; it is located in a wonderful neighborhood, lots of great neighbors. It is the picture perfect representation of luxury and grace, simply put it is perfect for you and your husband" Regina stated regally while she flashed them a toothy grin.

Her clients then went on to discuss between themselves in French about the listing, Regina while not trying to eavesdrop heard mention of a baby which caused her to grin.

"You're Pregnant!" she said enthusiastically, "That's wonderful, if you're planning to have a baby then this apartment is definitely the most magical place!"

"How many children do you have?" the wife asked.

"Oh. Oh…well let me see… I have um zero" she stated with a small firm smile. "My wife and I are separated, and know what you're thinking the clock is ticking but I was actually thinking of just maybe adopting on my own…um…but you got to stay optimistic right? Don't get down on yourself, look on the Brightside…" she said flashing a political smile.

 **Back at the Precinct**

Emma decided to take a break from her paperwork to check in on her Secretary Mary-Margaret's progress. She promptly exited her office and went to her desk located right outside Emma's door.

"So, where are we on the star front MM?" she asked

The small pixie-haired woman was a little startled by the sudden appearance from her boss, but still went to rummage through her phone to find what Emma was asking for.

"Um…well you can buy and name a star Regina, it's only about 25 dollars and you get a certificate and everything." The secretary said pleased with her work.

"Well, that's great, but I kind of want something more impressive…oooh…Can I buy a constellation?" her boss asked excitedly.

"I don't know" Mary-Margaret said slightly defeated but none the less continued to search her phone. "Um... Well you can buy a black hole!" The girl said with hope filling her forest green eyes.

"I…Um I don't think that really sends the right message at this point in the relationship…I think she would just be more angry if I did that…But um thanks for trying" With that her boss retreated from her desk and back into her office.

 **Later that night at Regina's charity event**

Regina stood confidently at the podium while she gave her speech. She thanked everyone for coming to her gala and went to talk about the cause she was fighting for.

"…Are we going to use this crisis to come out better than ever before? You bet we are!" Regina said happily as she paused for applauses.

She went through her speech with until she caught the sight of a familiar blonde mane and piercing green eyes that she would recognize anywhere. Thoughts started to overflow her head; _why was she here. Couldn't she take a hint? I don't want to see her, but….she looks so good…NO! Regina, snap out of it, you're mad at her you can't forgive her._ This caused her to start to mess up her well prepared speech.

"But! But what that means…" she was momentarily stunned when she made eye contact with the woman who broke her heart. "Um…Um sorry" she laughed nervously to try and ease the tension that was starting to build in the room. "Well, I…what I'm basically trying to say is um… we want your money right now!" she said with a political smile she plastered on to hide the emotions that started to bubble under the surface. She was relieved to hear the audience laugh and applaud, with she left the podium.

The night ended not long after that.


	2. Chapter 2

_The night ended not long after that._

Emma knew that her presence is what made Regina mess up her speech because she knew her wife was always prepared and practiced things like these. Emma couldn't keep her eyes off Regina, she was wearing a beautiful gown that had its very own train; it was black and hug all of her wife's curves perfectly. all through the night, Emma's mind raced; _God, she's beautiful. i'm such an idiot for hurting her. i'm so stupid, god all I want to do is fix_ this. Emma watched Regina from afar that whole night, they would sometimes make eye contact for a few brief but wonderful moments, but not wanting to ruin it for her wife, Emma kept her distance; but she saw that the night was starting to come to a close and that her wife was preparing to leave, she walked up to her just as Regina was walking out the door. The silently walked together, until Emma decided to break the silence.

"Gina…that was a great speech tonight…"

"Thank you Miss Swan." She said coldly. Regina knew calling Emma that, would hurt and to be honest that was what she wanted; the fact that her wife whom she loved had called her by her maiden name, had really hurt Emma more than she cared to admit, but she was not backing down that easily.

"Can I just say that looked drop dead gorgeous today?" Emma said trying to get her wife blush or somehow react, but much to her dismay Regina kept her walls up.

"Thank you Miss Swan…Um I still don't entirely understand what you are doing here tonight?" she said quiet forcefully.

"F-for…Breast cancer, I'm against it; I came to support a charity that is trying to help stop it… Look Gina, I just really want to talk; I'll talk now, I'll talk later, I'll talk tomorrow, I'll talk over lunch, brunch, supper, dinner… whatever I just really want to talk to you…" she was going to continue when Regina interrupted her

"I get Miss Swan, you are available for talking…" she said almost forgivingly and just for a moment she let her walls down, but they were back up almost as quick as they went down. At that same moment, Regina thankfully spotted her assistant standing over by the car that was waiting to drive her after the gala was over. "David…" she said signaling her assistant to approach, which he did.

"Hey David, it's been awhile… how have you been?" Emma asked the assistant who just strolled over to the couple. "Mrs. Swan-Mills" he said, barely making eye contact with the woman instead he turned to his boss, to see what she needed him for.

"David, what do I have scheduled for tomorrow?" Regina asked her doting assistant

He then proceeded to pull out his phone and check her schedule for tomorrow.

"Well… you have the PETA lunch."

Emma seized her moment to make a joke to hopefully lighten the mood "I guess you probably have BBQ…" she laughed nervously as she waited for one of them to laugh, but that never came instead she was ignored like she was totally and utterly invisible. "What about after lunch?" she continued as she saw that her attempt to lighten the mood had failed miserably.

Almost on cue Mary-Margaret who also served as Emma's assistant pipped up

"Um… Hi Mrs. Swan-Mills…" the small woman said to Regina before turning to her boss. "Um… after lunch you have the conference call with the governor."

"Should I even ask about dinner?" Emma said, both assistants both started stating reasons why both of the Swan-Mills were busy.

Regina who had remained quiet most of the time just observing decided to pipe in. "Maybe it would be more beneficial if Mary-Margaret and David discuss this and find a solution"

"What a great idea!" Emma stated "Not only are you beautiful but also really smart!" Emma was really trying to get Regina to react but to no avail Regina just decided to ignore her comment all together.

Both the assistants began to discuss possible time slots while Regina and her wife just stood on the side lines. After a few minutes of silence, Emma once again decided to break it.

"So, how's the apartment?"

"Perfectly fine, Miss Swan; so much more room without your rather large collection of leather jackets…How's the hotel?" Regina didn't really feel for small talk but what else was there to do so she indulged her former lover.

"It's fine, its fine…especially since there is no one setting a stupid alarm." Emma was starting to get frustrated.

"I especially love that no one is walking into the master bedroom wearing ugly boots that are trailing mud, dirt and all sorts of germs everywhere."

"As is not stepping over discarded pairs of heels everywhere in the bedroom…" Emma paused. "Which I actually kind of miss."

Just at that moment both David and Mary-Margaret approached them. "So, we moved some things around tomorrow night." They said in unison.

"Great, shall we say Luigi's at 10pm?" Emma sayed filled with hope.

"See you then, Miss Swan. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Gina" at the mention of the nickname Regina slightly stiffened but played it off regally. Both she and David slipped into the Mercedes that had been waiting for them the entire time. In a blink of an eye the black car disappeared from sight.

Both Emma and Mary-Margaret unlike David and Regina took two separate cabs "home". Emma's home was with Regina, but the woman didn't want to see her, so she resigned to the hotel she had been staying at for the past 3 months.

When Emma awoke the next morning she was excited to finally be able to not only talk to her wife, but also enjoy I nice meal with her.

She knew that all she needed to do was get through the day, and with that she got dressed and made herself some coffee to go. Just like that she was out the door and heading to work.

Today was going to be a great day, but little did Emma know that something was going to happen that would change her and Regina's lives forever…


	3. Chapter 3

**Luigi's at precisely 10 pm**

Emma had decided to arrive at couple of minutes early so she could be there when Regina got there; she knew just how much the brunette hated waiting for others. Emma waited patiently for Regina, but in the meantime the blonde fiddled with her dress; she had spent a good hour deciding what to wear because she wanted to impress her lover. She decided to go with a tight pink dress that stopped half way upon her toned thighs; she knew that this one of Regina's favorite outfits which is why she wore it and it also hug all of her curves.

She also decided to throw on a little makeup not that she really knew how to put it on properly; she settled with beautiful but classic look that brought out her eyes. Emma stopped fiddling with her outfit long enough to see that Regina had just arrived and had spotted her. Emma couldn't keep her eyes off the woman she loved with all of her heart; Regina was wearing a gorgeous tight black dress that left little to the imagination which she paired with stunning red heels and crimson lipstick. Emma wanted to so badly to jump up and kiss the woman until she passed out. Emma got up to receive the woman; she greeted her and pulled out the chair across from her own out so the woman could sit. Emma then walked around the table and they both sat in silence when once again Emma broke the awkward silence.

"So…Oh! Did you get the roses I sent you? I know how much you love flowers… and um…now far far away there is now a galaxy named Regina."

"You have to just stop…stop sending things it's just getting awkward Miss Swan."

"I get it and I will…just one last one." The blonde then proceeded to ruffle through her purse and pulled a small rectangular envelope and placed it from of her wife.

Regina took the envelope in her hands and pulled out paper that read: _, 2:00pm Friday, X._ upon reading what was written on the paper she scoffed at her wife's pitiful attempt at trying to make this work. She then placed the paper back in the envelope and placed back down, fitting the rage and anger that was trying to escape.

Emma then tried to speak before her wife's temper got the better of her. "I know you really wanted for us to go, but I didn't, so I figured that maybe we try going to see him. I looked him up, he seems very nice and he supposed to be the best marriage counselor in town."

Regina scoffed again "Oh I know she is, I've been to her duplex on 34th street."

"Okay and Grumpys recommended him."

"Leroy and Nova…" she questioned

"Yes…"

Regina then proceeded to laugh evilly which sent chills down Emma's spine. "They've been divorced for year."

"Well…yeah they have but one thing they both can agree on is how much the love . He liked wrote a book or something."

"Yes," she smiled and proceeded to fold her napkin in her lap "yes, The Magic Marriage Myth."

"See… you're so smart and well read, it's one of the many reasons why I love you Gina."

"Well, obviously not enough to stay loyal." She said spitefully, while looking straight into the blonde's eyes. She then felt a little remorse to see the woman look down and lose the glint in her eyes that Regina love so much.

When the blonde didn't respond, Regina took it upon herself to break the silence, "his book is all about how your spouse forces you to be someone else and forces the other to do things they don't want too." She said coolly, with just as much spite as before.

"That's interesting, almost brilliant." The blonde said finally looking up from her lap and making eye contact with her lover.

"I don't know… I think her ideology is a little pessimistic, don't you think?"

"I agree, yeah if you do."

Regina then let out a loud sigh of defeat. "Can you not do that? Can you stop being so agreeable just to please me?"

"Um…whatever you say."

The rest of the night was spent in silence, just enjoying the meal and the atmosphere of the classy Italian restaurant.

When the night started to come to a close, both woman walked out together to be met by both their assistants waiting patiently.

"So…"the blonde woman said standing in front of the woman she loved.

"So, um… yeah I have a showing tonight and I'm going to pick up my client at his townhouse." Regina said staring into the sea of green eyes that mesmerized her every time, "Do you want to walk with me?" she asked cautiously.

Slightly taken back by her wife offer to spend more time her, Emma shook her head so fast, it looked like it was going to fall off. "Absolutely, I would love too."

They both approached their assistants and informed them, that they were going to walk. Then, both women turned and left their assistants to talk to each alone.

The women walked in silence, while thunder and rain threatened to fall from above.

"Here comes the rain," Emma stated.

"You slept with someone else" Regina said just loud enough for Emma to hear.

"Don't feel like talking about the weather," Emma said jokingly trying to ease the mood.

"Okay Miss Swan, it's cloudy with a hundred percent chance of precipitation, is that better? You slept with someone else."

"I was confused, I was really drunk, and I'm an idiot. I don't know what you want me to say, I love you."

The rain had started to pour during the conversation, which had caused Regina to look even more beautiful than ever before with the rain trickling down her face, Emma remarked. The blonde then proceeded to say: "Do you still love me?"

Regina had to think about that, a part of her wanted to say no while the other part wanted to kiss her passionately. She then settled with, "I don't know if I can sort of love you, Emma. Or love you a little…"

The blonde grinned ear to ear about the fact Regina had used her first name; it sounded so good coming from the other woman. "I'm fine with a little, it's better than not at all. I can get by with a little less love for a while maybe a years, if you still love me at all. Knowing you love me even a little is perfect for me."

"That's not me," She said and she would be lying if she sayed it didn't break her heart a little to see the broken and sadden expression on her lover's face. "I…I have to go." With that the brunette started to walk away from the defeated blonde.

Still determined to fix this, the blonde followed her until she caught up, "Look, I just think that we should just give a shot."

Looking up, Regina caught the sight of her client standing near the ledge of the balcony of the town house, she was looking for. "Hey, that's my client, what's he doing up there?" the man looked very stoic, almost like he was a statue; seeing this caused Regina to pick up her pace, until she was standing right in front of the building. "What's he doing out there without an umbrella?"

"What are we doing out here without an umbrella?" the blonde woman rebutted.

"Mr. Jones?" Regina tried to get the attention of the man until suddenly; he started to fall forward right off the balcony and toward the couple; landing right in front of them. Regina gasped looking at her client who had a knife in his back. Emma went right into protection mode; she pulled Regina back by the shoulders and looked up to where the man had been standing only moments ago. She suddenly saw a man dressed in all black appear in the shadows. The minute they made eye contact, Emma started to pull her lover away, trying to get her to safety. Emma then places her hand on her lover's mouth and starts to pull away from the building so they can hopefully get by and not be seen by the perp. She hides behind the nearest truck, "Shhhhhh….". Regina follows Emma's order to remain silent when all of sudden the truck they were hiding behind pulls away leaving them exposed to the killer. This time the killer looks right at them, Regina gasped the minute, she saw the man on the balcony staring down at her and her lover.

The killer then proceeds, knowing his cover is blown, to pull out a gun. The moment he does this both woman start to take off running and nearly get hit by a taxi, they hide behind the car, the killer not wanting to draw more attention to himself, makes a quick getaway.


	4. Chapter 4

**Later that night, once the cops have arrived**

Both the woman wrapped in blankets, sit side by side in the back of a black SUV, while the detective informs them more about what happened.

"The victim, Mr. Killian Jones is an international arms dealer and the FBI was moving to convict him, so in the meantime in exchange for less time he was helping us capture Mr. Gold, so we think that's why Gold had him killed, if we find the murderer then maybe he will lead straight to Gold. And the two of you, are going to be our star witnesses, but in the mean time I want to concentrate on keeping both of you safe." The detective stated.

"What…What do you mean safe?" Regina asked nervously.

"This guy is still out there ma'am." He said.

"But, he doesn't know who we are…" Emma pointed out.

"I'm going to put you under 24 hour protection at your apartment on Manhattan." He said firmly.

"Um…well, we don't live together; he is at hotel because we are separated." Regina said casually. Hearing her wife tell a total stranger this hurt, and made Emma a little uncomfortable, so she started to rub the back of her neck nervously.

They proceeded to discuss minor details, until there meeting was over; All three exited the car.

"So, I know tonight was a really long night for the both of you, so get some rest and I will see you two in the morning." The man said. "Mrs. Swan-Mills," he said turning to Regina "this is Marshall Anton" gesturing to a large man with very broad shoulders, he was at least two to three feet taller than Regina.

"Well, hello" Regina said while flashing him a small tight smile.

"Ma'am" responded the giant.

"Um…Do you want me to stay tonight?" Emma offered, hoping her wife would say yes.

"No Miss Swan, I think Marshall Anton can handle it on his own, good night." she said coolly.

"Good night…" the blond responded a little disappointed.

Regina and her assigned Marshall then proceeded to head to the car that was going to take her to her apartment.

At that same moment, a man who was maybe 3 to 4 feet tall approached her and the detective. "Mrs. Swan-Mills, this is Marshall Dopey and he will be protecting you." _Are you kidding me?_ Emma wondered.

"Um…hi" the blonde didn't really know what to say to the small man.

"It's very nice to meet you Miss." He said ushering Emma towards the vehicle that would take them to the hotel that Emma was staying at.

 **Across town**

"Hey, it's me…Yeah it's done" the man dressed head to toe in black responded, while walking down the crowded streets of NYC

"Very good, dearie" the person on the other side of the phone said. "I'll meet you tomorrow on the island."

"No problem." Just as the call was over, the man in black passed a store window with a familiar face in it. He recognized immediately, it was the brunette from before, he smiled sickly.

 **The next morning at Regina's Apartment**

Regina had just finished in the washroom when the phone started to ring. "Hello…Oh hello detective, oh okay you are going to send someone to relieve Marshall Anton. Okay that's perfect," her intercom had started to ring "Yeah he has been out there a while, sorry can you give me a minute, my intercom is ringing. Okay thx"

Regina then proceeded to run over to the intercom, to see who was there. Marco her doorman said that there was Marshall here to relieve the other one from his duty. Regina told him to send the Marshall up.

Regina then ran back to the phone "Yeah, hi sorry, it seems you guy is already here, he is coming up as we speak….what…okay"

She then ran to the door, she heard gunshots and opened it to find Anton against the door with two bullets in him and the man from the balcony dressed up as a police officer at the other end of the hall, with a gun in his hand.

"GET BACK INSIDE!" Anton shouted at her and she gasped at the sight of him and began to follow orders when the gun was fired again, only this time it hit the door just as she closed it.

She then rushed once the door was closed to lock it; _maybe it will keep him out_ Regina thought.

She ran as quickly as she could to her balcony and uselessly screamed for help, like anyone could hear her, she was 30 floors up. She heard the lock break and the killer start to break through the door. At that same moment, she decided to start to climb to the next apartment. She kept thinking _just don't look down, don't do it Regina. You can do this. You can't die like this, you won't die like this._

The killer started to panic when he heard children coming off the elevator so he decided to flee by taking the stairwell.

Regina had already started to climb the tiny ledge, one misplaced step and she would become a pancake. She managed to make to the next balcony without falling.

 **Across town at the hotel Emma was staying at**

Emma had just finished her shower and just put on her towel, when Marshall Dopey rushed right into the room without care

"There is an emergency."

"Okay thank you..." seeing that he wasn't moving, she gestured to herself and the fact she was almost naked "Um…Do you mind?!"

The man only smiled a goofy grin "Not at all"

"Okay…I'll be out in a minute"

Finally taking the hint the man left her to get dressed in peace.

 **Back at Regina's apartment**

Emma and Regina sat together surrounded by police officer and the detective from the other night.

"The perp was pretty careful at keeping his head down, when passing the cameras," the detective sayed.

"How's Marshal Anton?" Regina asked, genuinely worried for the man who got shot because of her.

He's going to be fine, he was wearing a bullet proof vest but this guy is still out there and now he knows where you live. I suggest that both of you both enter witness relocation program" the detective stated.

"What?" They both said in unison

"Wait hang on," Emma started to say when Regina stopped her.

"You mean where they pack you up and ship you off to the middle of nowhere? Oh no way, forget that"

"Wait hang on a sec" Emma started again "how about we just look at our options because I'm sure there has to be some options here" she stated, happy that Regina didn't interrupt her again.

"Well where would we go?" Regina asked cautiously

"I can't reveal that until we are on the jet…" the detective said.

"Wait a minute there is a jet?! So it's out of the city…" Regina questioned

Emma butted in "so Gina I think we should try and stay logical and examine all the angles before we jump to a conclusion" she stated trying to help calm her wife.

"No, I can't I have a conference, I can't miss that…" she rambled on about the consequences, Emma tried to speak a few times but it was no use. "And what about all our friends and our family? We what just up and leave them, that's just too crazy. That's ridiculous, is that really what you are suggesting?"

Emma was starting to get frustrated with the woman, "Well we don't actually know what he is suggesting because you haven't let him speak" she stated, happy that her wife had finally stopped talking long enough for anyone else to speak.

"Excuse me, this isn't the first time we have done this, we have got a list of people to contact but first we need to get you two to a safe location." The detective said, clearly frustrated with both of the woman.

"What happens if you never find the perp?" Emma asked curiously.

"Don't worry, we'll find him." The detective said confidently "Right now, we are going to place you at temporary place until we can find you a more permeant one."

"What do you mean by permeant?" Regina asked forcefully with a look of disgust of her face.

Noticing that he had slipped up, the detective corrected himself. "I don't mean permeant, I mean official."

Regina deciding not to let up kept badgering the man. "But you said permeant. So…so if you don't catch this guy, the official site becomes the permeant site." She was getting more and more agitated as Emma just remained calm.

"Okay, why don't you let him just try and explain that bit," Emma tried to reason with the brunette but once again she was ignored.  
"I'm sorry…I…I can't do this" Regina sayed as she stood up. "I'm a new Yorker, I was born here this is my home."

"This man is a professional killer, he found you in one night and he will keep coming back until both of you are dead." The detective said, trying to help the woman see that this was not a choice. "Wouldn't you rather live somewhere else, instead of dying in New York?"

The woman finally remained silent, so Emma tried to see what she was thinking about. "Gina?"

"I'm thinking"

Hearing this, the detective decided to pipe up. "There is nothing to think about, if you want to live, you're out of options."

"I'm sorry, but I don't mean to drag our personal problems into this but me and her are separated, and at this exact moment in my life right now, I can't commit to spending the rest of my life with my wife." Regina said looking at the detective and not once looking at Emma; if she had, she would have seen how hurt Emma was, and how her words had devastated Emma

"This is just a temporary location, you will be there a week tops, we'll arrange separate sites after but first we need to get both of you as far as we can from here."

It was decided Regina and Emma were going to be stuck together for the foreseeable future.

They both had to give up all of their devices and credit cards, the both packed clothes that there Marshalls had deemed appropriate for where they were going.

A couple hours later, they were on the jet heading to god's nowhere. Once the plane took off, Regina and Emma both went to sleep considering the couple days they just had.

When they both finally decided to wake up, the plane had landed in probably one of the world's smallest airports. They both gathered up their belongings and started to get off the plane.

They finally got off the plane they both thought to them selves

 _And so it begins…_


	5. Chapter 5

**At the airport where we left off**

They both started to walk towards the front entrance of the small airport. Once they reached the door, Emma held it open so that the woman she loves could enter and she followed swiftly. There was no one inside except a guard who fast asleep.

"Is that our so-called protector in this god forsaken place?" Regina said nervously hoping it wasn't.

"If it is, I feel safer already…" Emma said try to lift the mood.

They both turned around, to see the jet on which they arrived, start to head back where it came from. Seeing that they weren't going to be able to go back now, they moved further into the reception area.

"Oh my god…oh you are going to love this Miss Swan." She said as she spotted a grey board with sign attached to it about what to do during an encounter with a bear.

"Um…Shouldn't we be…I don't know writing this down or taking a picture." Emma suddenly becoming very nervous.

"Oh don't worry they are all over town," A voice from behind them said, so they both turned around and they were faced with a very leggy brunette with a streak a red in her hair. "The posters not the bears I mean." The new woman sayed jokingly.

"Hi…Um are you?" Regina started to say when the woman before them interrupted her.

"Glad to see you? You betcha!" the woman said enthusiastically, while winking at them. "Hey, let me take your bags, come on let's get going." She said taking their bags and leading towards the back of the airport, towards the exit.

When they got outside, they were met with a bright red pickup truck, which they assumed was their new acquaintance's car, since she started to put their bags in the back. Emma got in the back seat of the car while she gave Regina the front seat.

Just like that they pulled away from the airport and started to head further out in to the unknown.

"Welcome to Maine, I'm US Marshall Ruby Lucas."

"Hey, it's nice to meet you." Emma said with a little head nod in the Marshall's direction.

"Hi, I'm Regina Swan-Mills…"

"Um, I don't think so ma'am." The driver responded thoroughly confusing Regina.

"So, you are saying I have been wrong all my life." Regina said sarcastically.

"No, you're Regina Foster and you're my cousin." She rebutted. Regina then caught on to what she was saying, that was her cover name. At that same moment, Regina shivered.

"Are you cold?" Ruby asked while turning the heater on in the car.

"Yeah, I didn't know what to pack so I didn't really pack stuff that was warm." Regina stated wringing her hands together to try and warm them up.

"The temperature really drops here, so we should look into to getting you some warmer clothing."

"Thank you, if there any places still open?" the brunette asked

"Well there is a Bargain Barn…" the Marshall stated

"I've never to a Bargain Barn…" Regina said

"Are you kidding me? You have got to be pulling my leg." She said looking at the person sitting beside her.

"Well, we don't really have any in New York, so…"

"I don't follow you."

She scoffed and though to herself _is she stupid?_ So she articulated every word "They - Don't - Have – One-in –New-York-So-I've-never-been."

"I still don't follow you." The Marshall responded

"They also don't have one in Chicago, which is where we are from." Emma chimed, when she caught on to what the Marshall was trying to say.

"Ah, I see…" responded the Marshall

 **15 minutes later at Bargain Barn**

"Oh my god, this can't be right a sweater for 10 dollars" Regina exclaimed.

Emma looked at one right beside it, and looked at the price tag

"It's not, it's two for one" the blonde said a little shocked.

They both went their separate ways and explored the store a little

Emma found the exact same sign she saw in the airport so she picked up one as well as a few cans of something called bear repellant because she wanted to be ready if anything should arise. Emma started to head to the cash when she saw a small petite innocent looking women playing with a shotgun, Emma kind of just froze. The woman saw this and looked at her, once they made eye contact Emma gave a slight nod and started to walk back the way she came.

After the checked out and started to put the stuff in the back of the pickup truck, Emma spotted the woman from a few minutes ago, walking towards them.

"Gina, you see that woman, guess what's in those bags?"

"I don't Miss Swan, Baguettes?" she guessed seeing that the bags were very long.

"Guns! Oh god she's coming over here."

"Oh my God, it's Sarah Palin." Regina said

The woman stopped right in front of them. "Actually the name's Belle, Belle Lucas but you can call me Deputy Lucas." She said extending her arm out to the couple before her, with a big smile.

"Oh…Oh! So you're married" both women sayed in unison, while gesturing between the Deputy and Marshall.

Just at that moment, the Marshall snaked her arm around Belle's waist and gave her a quick kiss before taking the woman's bags.

"Just what you needed honey, more guns." The Marshall said while placing the weapons in the bed of the pickup.

"You can never have enough sweetheart. Do you hunt Regina?"

"Only for bargains, I'm actually I a member of PETA."

"That's cool," the Deputy said. "I just want to say that I think what you two are doing is just so brave. It will be an honor, to protect you and I hope you guys are really comfortable here with us."

"Thank you, I have to say that I thought this place was going to be less modern, but this Bargain Barn is fantastic and I can't wait to be so close to all these places." Emma said joyfully

"Well, where we are staying, it's about 45 minutes west from here and there is no Bargain Barn." The Deputy said trying to correct Emma.

Both women looked disappointed and just like that they got back into the pickup and drove toward the place where they were going to be staying.

The drove for the next 45 minutes in silence, outside was nothing but woods and one sign that sayed Welcome to StoryBrooke

Before long, there were small buildings and businesses surrounding them, but there was not a soul wandering the streets, it almost looked deserted.

"This is StoryBrooke" the Marshall said filled with joy.

Both Emma and Regina were expecting the vehicle to stop somewhere in town but no they drove right passed all the buildings until they were once again surrounded by woods.

"So, if that's StoryBrooke, where are we going?" Regina asked growing more and more curious by the second.

"A few miles out because we like to get away from the hustle and bustle." The Deputy responded

The drove for another 20 minutes before they finally stopped in front of cute little log cabin that was placed right in the middle of the woods. It was very pretty, there was a little path, so you could take a walk or go for a run.

Once the car stopped the Marshall and Deputy got out followed by Emma and Regina. The Marshal and Deputy went and got the bags from the back of the truck and walked up the few stairs to the front door of the cabin. Ruby got her key out and opened the door.

"Come on in," she said placing the bags in the small but at the same time large kitchen area.

The house was decorated with all sorts of antlers and deer heads mounted on the wall.

"Um…I like what you did with the…Um…heads" Regina said trying to be nice, since she was a guest in their home.

"Thanks, we killed all these animals ourselves." Belle said proudly while giving a small smile.

"Well that's great, I hate when you have the decorator do it themselves." Regina said sarcastically, the only person who laughed was Emma.

Taking Regina's comment seriously, Belle smiled. "Oh well I got a friend named Gaston in town, he's a taxidermist." She said while grabbing her guns and putting them away.

"Any word from New York?" Regina asked hoping that there was.

"No ma'am" Ruby responded with a shake of her head.

Belle came back from putting her guns away. "So are you two hungry? We have plenty to eat."

"Um…none for me I had enough on the forced out of New York flight" Regina spat out

"Chicago" Emma corrected her, only meaning to help

"Right Chicago" the brunette responded through gritted teeth.

"Um, well you two probably want to get some sleep, I'll show you to your room." The Deputy said trying to ease the tension that was building up in the room; she started to walk to a white door located right next to the living room area.

"I hope you'll be comfortable here, we fixed up the spare bedroom, I know it's nothing like the Ritz, but it's better than nothing." She gestured to the room, which had a twin sized bed, blankets, books, and one giant Deer head which was facing the bed.

"We usually only have one witness at a time," the deputy said trying to explain to small bed.

"The last one was the Queen of hearts; she murdered countless people until she turned state's evidence."

"So you actually do this all the time, this isn't the first." Emma asked

"Yep, about 10 years ago the government asked if we would hide somebody for a week and ever since then a couple times a year they bring somebody by. It's been kind of interesting actually, now they want me to transfer but I'm thinking maybe just retire early and relax. You two are going to be our last," the Marshall said flashing a bright smile.

"Well, it's an honor and it's a lovely witness room, but um…Mrs. Swan and…Mrs. Foster and I are separated." Regina said when Emma decided to butt in.

"Well we are thinking of seeing a therapist" she said while rubbing the back of her neck.

There was a few seconds of dead air when the Deputy decided to break the awkward silence which plagued them. "So…How do you want to handle the sleeping arrangement then?"

"Well, I can… um sleep on the couch." Regina said while gesturing to the couch that was right behind her.

"No, no, no, no, I'll sleep on the couch." Emma rebutted while also gesturing to the couch.

"No, its fine, I'll be fine on the couch. Do you have cable?" Her wife said.

"We've got an antenna and we got a bunch of DVDs. Although they are mostly John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, I just love westerns." The Marshall said, while smiling

"That's great…" Regina sayed while wringing her hands. "Oh well I see you have computer…" she said while walking over excitedly to the machine." So that means you have internet, you're online." She said filled with hope and joy.

"We do but you would need a pass code…" the deputy said seriously.

"Which you're not going to give to me…" Regina said disappointed.

"No, you could try and contact somebody back home and that's just too big of a risk." Belle responded

"I guess same goes for the phone…" Regina said while gesturing towards a phone that layed right beside the computer. "Because I just have a couple things I have to check on."

"Same, I could just make like a really quick call…" Emma said trying to plead with her protectors.

"You know you could supervise the call." Regina suggested. Both Ruby and Belle had just remained silent while they pleaded their case.

Regina then went to try the phone but when she picked up the handset, there was no dial tone.

"Um…there's no dial tone." Regina said while still clutching the handset.

"There's a code." The Marshall said. Regina then placed the handset back down.

"So, I guess that's it, there's towels and soap in the bathroom." She said, gesturing to the hallway.

"Great…Great… Is there a code." Emma said trying to lighten the mood.

Both Ruby and Belle retreated to their own bedroom, leaving Regina and Emma alone. They each got into their pj's. Regina wore her normal satin pj's while Emma wore a pair of long baggy pj pants and a white tank top. When Emma had finally come out of the bathroom she found Regina already setting up the couch for the night. She started to walk to the bedroom but stopped in front of the couch

"Are you sure you're going to be okay on the couch?" Emma said, she cared for her wife and wanted her to be okay.

Regina stopped what she was doing and looked at Emma. "Yeah, I will be perfectly fine Miss Swan." She said while resuming fixing the couch.

"Right…Goodnight Gina." She sayed while hesitating to walk to the room, but when she saw her wife ignoring her, she started to walk over to her room.

She had almost reached the door when Regina spoke. "Look Emma, I know how hard you are trying, really I do, and I'm not completely oblivious to your actions and attempts. Believe me, it would be so much easier, if I could just make myself forget, but when…when I look at you I just…I just feel regret, sadness and a deep desire to see you suffer intense pain Miss Swan." She said while sitting down on the couch

"Well that's not a problem, I'm more than willing to hurt myself, or would prefer to do it, because I will do whatever it takes to get you back Gina, I love you just tell what to do…tell me." She pleaded while finally sitting next to her wife on the couch.

"I…I don't know…"

"Look the thing is I'm just trying to be realistic, I made a mistake was it a really fucking bad mistake…yeah, yeah it was but I'm human, I'm not perfect."

"I know…I know you're not, but I was so in love with, I gave you my heart and you shattered into a million pieces…and now I'm just…I'm just so disappointed." She said while looking straight into Emma's eyes with her beautiful chocolate orbs. "And I don't trust you anymore…"

Emma sat there for few minutes with her down, feeling so horrible for what she did the love of her life. "Okay…Okay…Goodnight." With that she got off the couch and went to her room with looking back at Regina but she could feel her gaze as she left the room.

"Night" Regina said barely even audible as Emma closed her door.

 **I'm not going to be updating as much during the week because I have school, but I try my best if not there will be at least one to two chapter on the weekend :)** **. Ps. only one chapter today because it was so long and I had a lot of hw, it's most fluff and it helps to set up what's going to happen later. Pls review I love to hear what you think.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Back in New York at Regina's office**

David was hard at work, when all of a sudden, her boss's wife's assistant came running up to his desk.

"David!" Mary-Margaret said panicked, while practically sprinting to his desk. The man's head shot up from his work to look at the woman in front of him. "Have you heard about the Swan-Millses?" the petite woman said to the well-built man in front of her.

"Shhhhhh…" he said ushering her to sit on the little chair that was placed right beside his desk. He also pulled his chair closer so no one but the pixie haired assistant could hear what he was saying. "Of course I heard, and I'm totally devastated."

"They're in protective custody." She said clarifying for him as if he hadn't knew what she was talking about.

"Mary-Margaret, I heard." He said in a slightly annoyed voice.

"What are we going to do?" she asked as if he had all the answers.

"What can we do? We can't-"he started to say before the sound of the phone ringing interrupted him. "Yes?"

"There is a client here for Mrs. Swan-Mills," the woman on the other line informed David.

"Okay sure, send him back." David responded.

A few seconds later a man wearing glasses and dressed in a nice dark green suit, with a light green shirt walked up to the two assistants.

"Hi, how can I help you?" David responded as he stood up to greet the new client.

"If you're busy, I can come back," the new man informed her.

David then looked to Mary-Margaret and then back at the client, "Nonsense, she was just leaving," he said while pulling lightly on the other assistant's arm and ushered her toward the door. Mary-Margaret got up, but instead of leaving she just stood next to the new man and stared at him.

"Okay, I'm in the market for a two bedroom and a friend of mine recommended Regina Swan-Mills." The man dressed from head to toe in green said to David.

"Ok, do you want to have a seat?" David said with a huge smile and pointed to where Mary-Margaret had just been seated.

"Okay, yeah" the man said while turning to Mary-Margaret who was standing in his way. The woman seeing that he was trying to go sit down moved out of his way. He then sat down, but what neither of the assistants noticed was that as he sat down he places a little recording device under David's desk. Seeing that Mary-Margaret was still standing there, David gestured to the door. The woman having still wanted to talk to David, made a gesture for him to call her before she promptly decided to do as she was told and leave. Once the woman was gone, David then turned his attention to the client sitting in front of him.

"Hi, I'm David, Mrs. Swan-Mills's assistant." He said while smiling warmly. "She's not in today, so can I get one of the other agents to talk to you?" the man suggested.

"Um…You know what if she's as good as everyone says, I'm sure she's probably worth the wait." The client said with a small smile.

"She is" David said with a small nod and an even bigger smile then before.

"Well, I'm sorry for taking up your time then." The man in green said before getting up.

"Not at all." David said while also getting up.

"That's a nice looking muffin there." The client sayed gesturing to the muffin that sat of David's desk; it was a snack which he hadn't had time to eat yet. While David's head was turn to look at the muffin, the man took the opportunity to drop an even smaller recording device into David's briefcase which was open just beside his desk.

"Well enjoy your snack." The man said before leaving.

 **Back at the cabin**

The sound of food sizzling and dirty utensils being thrown into the sink had woken Regina up, hearing the sound she jumped of the couch where she had after many tries, finally fallen asleep. When she looked over at the kitchen area, there stood the Deputy making breakfast for everyone in the cabin. She made bacon, sausage, toast, eggs and pancakes.

"Morning, hope I didn't wake you?" the Deputy said spotting the woman staring at her.

"No, no…" she said sarcastically. "I actually didn't really sleep. It's very, very quiet here. " The brunette admitted honestly before walking over towards the Deputy, and the assortment of food.

"Are you hungry?"

"It looks good," Regina said.

"So do you want sausage or Bacon with your eggs and pancakes?"

"Oh…oh no thanks, I'm actually vegetarian."

Belle started to laugh a little, thinking she was joking but immediately stopped seeing that Regina was serious. A few seconds later the Marshall started to walk in to the kitchen, she went up to the Deputy and placed a quick kiss on her lips.

"I've got news for you Marshall, your cousin here is a vegetarian." Belle informed Ruby. Ruby then looked from her wife to Regina.

"You never going to know what's going to happen in your own family." Ruby said jokingly. At that same moment Emma emerged from her bedroom.

"Hey sleepy head." Ruby said to Emma

"Well, hello slow poke." Belle then said to Emma

"Good Morning." The blonde said, greeting everyone. Regina then looked over her shoulder shyly and made eye contact.

"Morning." Regina said barely loud enough for Emma to hear

"Morning…" Emma then returned the greeting, while making her way over to the group of people in the kitchen area.

"And, how did you sleep?" The Deputy asked.

"Not very well, it's actually really quiet here." Emma said.

"I know I kept waiting for a siren," Regina said while looking down and smiling shyly; letting her walls down.

"A rumbling subway or something." The blonde said with smile, while she stood next to her wife.

There was a few minutes of quiet before Regina decided to break the silence.

"Speaking of New York, have you heard anything?" and just like that her walls were back up.

"No ma'am; you can ask every five minutes, but when they tell me I tell you." The Marshall said while taking her plate that was full with food to the dining area located right next to the kitchen.

They all followed swiftly; they sat down together and ate in silence. Then Ruby and Belle decided to get dressed and start their day. Regina and Emma were sitting on the couch, when Belle and Ruby emerged; both holding a gun of their own.

"So we are going to go do our rounds, so stay here; the fewer people that see you here, the safer you are." Ruby said while making her way to the front door.

"It really is a shame thought because StoryBrooke, is the friendliest place on earth." Belle said while following her wife, only pausing for a few moments in front of the couple. "We will be back in a couple of hours, so help yourself to anything in the fridge." She said while leaving the couple to follow her wife, who was already outside.

"Thank you" The women said in unison.

Once she was gone, Regina dropped her head and let out a loud sigh. "I can't believe this is happening."

Emma trying to comfort her wife did the one thing she knew how; joke. "Well at least you didn't have the full breakfast; I slowly feel my organs shutting down."

Regina then raised her head slowly. "I thought Disneyland was the friendliest place on earth…" she said completely ignoring what Emma had said only a few seconds ago.

"No, no…Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. StoryBrooke is the friendliest, but don't worry about it people probably get them confused all the time."

They both stood up from the couch and walked over to the giant windows at the front of the house, at the right moment to see Belle and Ruby leave on horseback which surprised both of the women a little.

"What if we never get out of here? What if I never see Lincoln center again or see the Mets, or see our friends, or to see Shakespeare in the park or to order Luigi's? Oh god, do you know how long it would take to get Luigi's, weeks and it would be cold?" she said while throwing her hands in the air exasperated as she had being pacing back forth. Emma didn't like to see her wife like this, so she had to do something.

"Don't do that, listen we are here and there is nothing we can do about it. There are no phone calls to make, no connections to make. I think you should treat it as a vacation, a welcomed break in your busy schedule; you deserve a break Gina."

"Okay," Regina sayed making her way back over to the couch and sitting down. "Okay…I guess you're right."

They both grabbed a book form the coffee table that was in front of the couch, Emma had just opened hers when Regina slammed hers down and stormed away.

"I don't want to be here!" she shouted as she stormed into the bathroom.

"At least, you gave it your best shot." The blonde said before reading the book she opened.

Not long after both the woman had gotten dressed and Regina had decided to go for a run.

Regina was standing outside, on the front deck of the house, and leaning on one of the supports while she stretched for her run. While she was stretching, Emma had emerged.

"They said not to leave…"

"Oh come on."

"Well, I'll join you then to protect you. Besides, I'd rather not be left her on my own."

They both started their on the little path that lead away from the house.

Regina ran while Emma trialed behind her, but trying to keep up none the less. Neither one spoke for most of the run.

When they had arrived back at the cabin, Regina ran up the steps.

"Okay…I'm going to go shower."

Emma bent over and was breathing heavily.

"I…..I…..I" she finally gave up on speaking when her wife had made her way to the door, she was still panting. Regina only turned around when she made it to the door and that's when she saw it.

"Emma…" Regina said nervously while eyeing the beast slowly approaching her wife.

"…What…" Emma said, still shocked Regina used her first name. She was still panting, when she saw that her wife looked scared, but of what she wondered.

"Emma, don't move" Regina said, standing behind the door, as the beast moved closer and closer.

"Is everything all right?" Emma asked, getting more and more worried.

"There's a bear behind you."

"What?" Emma said confused

"Yes, yes there is." The brunette said as she moved further inside, but she was still able to see her wife.

Only turning around now, Emma was faced with a huge brown bear about 8 feet from her and getting closer. "Oh Shit" she said, trying to move much, so she wouldn't get attacked. She started to run towards the door.

"No! Don't run the poster said not to run." Emma immediately stopped running. She could she the bear getting closer. "Hold on, I'm going to go get it okay." With that Regina was out of Emma's sight.

"What?! No! No! Come back please! Come back" she sayed trying to get her wife to come back, when nothing happened she turned her to look at the bear. "Gina, Gina, Gina, Gina, Gina!" Emma was trying desperately to get her wife.

Regina finally returned with the posters and bear repellant and gasped when she saw Emma in front of the bear, she read the poster. "Okay, Okay…um keep calm and…um a-avoid d-direct eye c-contact a-and s-speak i-in a soft monotone." She said desperately

"Um…Nice to meet you…my wife is a member of PETA," Emma said trying to do everything Regina said. "I'll be meaning to join."

Regina then continued to read the poster. "Don't shoot a bear,"

"I don't have a gun…" Emma said but her wife continued

"Bear almost always lives long enough to maul the shooter severely." She said

"I don't have a gun!" she screamed. The bear then started to get louder.

"Shhhhhh…soothing, soothing" Regina said trying to calm Emma.

"Sorry, I don't have a gun, no gun…" she started to speak to the bear.

"Wait, wait there's just one last thing."

"What is it?" Emma said, as the bear was getting closer.

"Um….You don't need to hear this."

"What is it?!"

"Okay…ah…As a last resort, assume a cannonball position, covering your head and neck with your hands and arms."

"I didn't need to hear that." Emma exclaimed

"Well, I know that, I told you that, you never listen. This is exactly…"

"Could we focus on the bear?" Just as they started to bicker the bear reared up on its hind legs and roared.

"Omg, Emma! It's coming!" Regina screamed

"Don't worry! Be soothing…" Emma said trying to call her wife when the bear started to run at her.

"Run! Run Emma, Oh My God! Run" Regina screamed worried for her lover's life

"But it says not to run!" the bear started to get closer and closer.

"Omg Run, RUUUUUUUUNNNNNNN!"

Emma then took off running and Regina opened the door while spraying the bear repellant.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Emma screamed as Regina got the repellant in her eyes. As Regina sprayed the repellent, the bear left.

"Okay he's gone" she said while watching the bear leave. Emma was still moaning in pain, holding her eyes.

"We are going to be okay."

"Omg, I think I'm dying."

"Omg that was close…."Regina said as she went into the bathroom.

Regina just kept replaying what had just happened over and over in head.

 _What if I lost her before I could tell her I love her…_


	7. Chapter 7

**At the small hospital in town**

Regina went over the form she had filled out with all of Emma's information, as they all sat beside each other in the small waiting room; it was Regina, Ruby, Belle and then Emma all the way on the right. After Regina had come out of the bathroom, Emma said she was in a lot of pain, around this time the Deputy and Marshall came back as well from their rounds. They all then climbed into the pickup and drove to the hospital. Ruby sat playing with her nails, while Belle was reading a magazine she had found on the table as they walked in. Emma sat moaning, with a cloth over her now swollen red eyes.

"Ow…oh God." She said taking off the cloth to try to open her eyes more, she then placed it back over eyes. Regina got up with the form in hand and walked over to the nurse's desk and handed it back to the blonde, whose name plate hand indicated her name was Tink Bell.

"Here you go…"Regina said as she gave it back to the nurse

"Ok…Lets have look at what we have got here…" She said cheerfully, reviewing the form. "You're from Chicago Mrs. Swan-Mills!" The woman said gleefully while looking straight into the brunette's eyes.

"Um…Yeah that's right" Regina said flashing the blonde a small smile.

"I've always wanted to go to Chicago"

"Oh well, I'm sure one day you'll get there." she paused before trying to help ease Emma's pain quicker. "Um, is it going to be much longer my wife is really in pain." She said while gesturing to her moaning lover.

"Oh yeah…" she said looking at Emma, her face twisted with disgust. "Oh yeah look at her, she's a mess. She should see a doctor." Emma, overhearing the conversation between her wife and the nurse, looked up. Tink then burst out laughing. "Laughter is really the best medicine."

 **A few minutes later in the doctor's office**

Once they entered they were greeted with a strangely handsome doctor who ushered them to sit in the seats in front of his desk; the tag on his shirt had indicated his name was Jefferson Hatter. Regina and Emma sat in silence while the doctor reviewed Emma's form.

"Oh, you sprayed yourself with bear spray Mrs. Foster…" He said looking at Emma.

"Um, I actually sprayed her; unintentionally of course…anyway do you that she should maybe see a specialist." Regina said in it in a way that to Emma, it sounded like she cared.

"Well, I'm about the only doctor in town…so I'm as special as it gets." Jefferson said smiling, while putting Emma's file down on his desk. "I do everything from geriatrics to pediatrics." He said enthusiastically.

"Well, you don't want to confuse those two." Regina said jokingly.

"No, you don't…That's the great thing about being a doctor in a small town, you see it all. Mentally it's all the same, the body is the body. So let's see if we can take care of that booboo on your eye Mrs. Foster." He said while getting up from his desk and urging the others to do the same.

"See just calling it a booboo makes it better." Emma said sarcastically

"Well lets head next door to the exam room. Say, would like to come in to Mrs. Foster." He said while gesturing to Regina to join them.

"No, I'm fine thank you." She replied just as Emma crashed into the doctor's desk.

"Let me help you there Mrs. Foster…Say do you like stickers…" He said as they both entered a room that was directly adjacent to his office. "Let's take a visit to the princess room."

With that Regina was left all alone in the doctor's office; she spotted a poster on the wall that piqued her interest. _StoryBrooke Rodeo; Sunday May 17 1pm. Cash prizes to be won._ _That could be interesting._ She thought to herself. She only noticed the poster because it stuck out from the wall of photos of children that lined the doctor's walls. She looked at the pictures, desperately wanting one of her own. She then check to make sure she was definitely alone before turning to use the doctor's phone which sat on the corner of his desk.

"Hello, you've reached Blue Fairy adoption agency, please leave a message"-BEEP-

"Oh um, Hi Blue, this is Regina Foste-ahh no sorry Swan-Mills calling…I was just calling to thank you so much for everything that you've done for me and I now I'm sort of in the middle of something right now and might be relocating, I might be in New York of I might be in God knows where. Um, I bet I sound really stable right now right? You probably can't believe you're going to help me adopt a baby." The call went end there.

 **Back at the cabin later that night**

Regina laid wrapped up in blankets on the couch, while Emma sat across from her on the love seat while an old Clint Eastwood movie played in the background. Both women were in their pajamas early due to the fact that they both had a long day. Not long after they left the doctor's office Emma's eyes started to return to normal.

"Very soothing before bed." Emma said jokingly as a big explosion happened in the movie.

"Hmmm" Regina said, Emma then looked at her wife and noticed she was getting tired.

"Okay, um well goodnight Gina." She said as she got up and started to walk to her door.

"Night" Regina said, while watching her wife's perfect ass as she walked away. "Emma…" she said, which caused Emma to turn around and look at her wife. Emma was just about to enter her room when she was taken by surprise that Regina used her first name.

"I called the adoption agency." Emma's eyes grew a little wide at her wife's admission. There was a long silence, both just looking into each other's eyes. "I filled for adoption two months ago." Regina said sitting up on the couch.

"You did?" It was no lie that Emma was a little surprised and shocked by her wife.

"I wanted to tell them that I couldn't go through with it now…" Regina said while turning off the TV, so they wouldn't have any distractions

"Two months ago yeah? A really big decision for you…" Emma said not wanting to look into her wife's eyes so she looked everywhere but at her while she wringed her hands nervously.

"Well, I really thought about telling you, but I didn't really know where we were at." Emma finally looked at her wife. "And to be honest, from the time we had trouble getting pregnant with the in vitro, you weren't exactly supportive."

"I always find it impossible to hear when you say that because numerus rounds of in vitro, the fertility doctors and the woman who chanted over our eggs-" Emma said growing more and more frustrated

"Come on, I have apologized so many times for that," the brunette said while getting up from the couch.

"I thought I was pretty supportive. Was I enjoying having to schedule sex? Maybe not as much as should have done and im sorry for that. Or talking about reproducing every second of every day-"Emma said growing angry and fed up.

"It wasn't every second of every day; I just wanted to be a mother."

"Yes, and I wanted to be a mother with you; I was the one who suggested adoption in the first place."

"Then why did we never meet with an adoption agency?" Regina asked.

"Because by that time you were so wired and on edge that they would not let us raise a pet fish let alone a baby."

"You know I was wired from the hormone shots and I'm not normally that crazy and instead of you staying home and dealing with it; You flew off to L.A. on a business meeting with the Governor, and oh Right?!" she said bitterly.

"I know…I know what I did! I slept with someone else and I'm sorry…I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I don't know how many times I'm supposed to say it, I think you are being completely irrational."

In Ruby and Belle's room

Ruby laid down trying to sleep but all she could hear was the couple yelling outside their door. Belle sat right next to Ruby reading a book.

"These two are worse than The Queen of hearts." Ruby said letting out a heavy sigh.

"I kind of like them. I just wish there was some way to help them." Belle said while turning the page in her book.

"Yeah, Muzzles." Ruby said taking her pillow and placing it on her head.

The bickering outside continued.

"We have to get them outside of the house." Belle said determined.


	8. Chapter 8

**Back at Regina's office**

"I don't know what to do David; there were all these meetings that were set-all these clients!" Mary-Margaret said distressed while following David around while he was trying to do his job while the woman talked to him.

"Ha! You think you've got problems; she is the President of the firm, so nothing happens here without her. And everyone else is looking at me like where is she!" David said while finally arriving in front of his desk after doing his rounds.

Mary-Margaret stepped around the desk, so she could face David while she spoke. "Without her, I'm going to lose my job. Without her, I do nothing."

David scoffed. "Well, I have news for you, even with her…" he was interrupted by the ringing of the phone placed on his desk. They both looked at the source of the interruption liked it held the answer to their problems. David snapped back into reality and picked up the receiver.

"Regina Swan-Mills's office…She's not in today…Hello Miss Blue, yes from the adoption agency…What?!...Regina called you…" David and Mary-Margret both looked at each other shocked. "Yesterday…Do you happen to have that number?" he said trying to get a paper from his desk but in order to do so he had to get the pixie haired woman to move. "Yes can you give me a moment…" after the two secretaries awkwardly switched places, David got a paper and pen to write down the number. "ok yes, go ahead…yes thank you so much." He said while scribbling down a number on the paper. Mary-Margaret leaned in so she could read the number.

 **Across the city**

The man dressed in black angrily slapped the machine to which he was intently listening to. He was so close to finding out where they were hiding.

 **Back in StoryBrooke**

Regina, Emma and Belle had decided that today they would go riding. Emma and Regina stood quietly by the horses while Belle gave them a brief rundown.

"This is Peter, Michael, john and Wendy. This is the one we are going to put you on Emma." Belle said while gesturing towards the beautiful but huge one named Peter.

"No, sorry no offence to you Peter, but I'm scared of you." Regina said to the horse as if it was going to respond. She then turned to belle and the newly arrived Ruby. "I had a bad experience when I was younger, I used to love riding, but then the horse got spoked and decided to through me. He then rose up on his hind legs and charged at me, thank god I got out of the way quick enough. I was only left with this little scar on my upper lip" Regina said while pointing to the scar.

Not wanting to push the girl further, Belle turned toward Emma. "Do you ride Emma?"

"Yes, well I took lessons when I was a child."

Regina then turned to Emma shocked because the blonde didn't really like to talk about her past and the numerous homes she lived in. "You had riding lessons?"

"Yes..."

"I never knew that."

"Well I don't tell you everything."

"Yeah I knew that!" Regina said with her classic eye roll, finally looking away from Emma and back to the horses. Emma then when her wife wasn't looking made a face as if to imitate her wife.

Once they all including Regina got settled onto their horses, Regina's had decided to move as hers started to gallop away from the group seeing that the group then followed swiftly. They all got into the groove of things and Regina was trailing behind. What the others didn't notice was that Regina had somehow gotten off her horse and the horse was running in front of her while she chased it.

"Hey! Hey I'm not on my horse; I'm not on my horse." Regina yelled while running after the beast and the group.

"Well get back on, because we got target practice next." Belle said.

After about another 10 minutes of riding, the grouped stopped in an open field. Belle got 3 old cans and placed them on a stump about 20 yards from they were standing.

Belle took out her shotgun and began to practice and show the other girls how to shoot. She hit the can every time, Emma and Regina just stood there in awe. They both flinched whenever she would fire a shoot while Ruby just stood there proudly watching her wife. Regina covered her ears, because the gunshots were too loud.

Once she finished she turned toward Regina. "Alright Regina it's your turn."

"Well let's just get this over with." She figured there was no point in fighting with Belle because she knew she would probably be forced to do it in the end. She walked over to Belle and took the gun from her while Ruby and Emma stood side by side and just watched quietly.

"Alright this is a loaded gun, so don't point it at another person or your own foot. Okay and um are you left handed or right handed?"

"Um…well I right with my left hand but I play badminton and tennis with my right. I text with my right! I cut… I cut with my left, right?" Belle giving up just handed Regina the gun.

"Okay, we are just going to do it like this. Line it up with the sight, and when the gun goes off it's going to kick back so move your shoulder." Belle said while positioning Regina properly before backing up so she could try it on her own. "Oh and don't put your finger on the trigger until you are ready shoot."

Regina just nodded while doing everything that Bell told her. She was a perfectionist so she waited. There was an awkwardly quiet silence while they waited for her to shoot.

"This is nothing, you should see how long it takes her to order dinner." Emma said to Ruby.

 _I'm going to wipe that smug grin off your face Swan!_ Regina thought to herself before firing the gun and actually hitting the can. Regina had stumbled back a little because Belle was right the gun does kick back hard. They all including Regina were surprised she hit the can on her first try.

"Very good!" Belle said

"Good shot!" Ruby said while walking closer to her wife and Regina.

"That was great! Good job Regina." Belle said while Emma just stared in awe at where the can used to be on the stump

"Wow! It's very loud." Regina said proud of herself.

Belle went to take the gun but Regina resisted. "No, no I still have to more cans."

"I'm just going to cock it." Belle said while taking the gun and showing Regina what to do.

"Fascinating! A week ago, she was practically Amish." Emma said to Ruby, causing her to smile.

Belle then gave the gun back to Regina.

"Okay it's loaded and ready to go. When you're ready, put your finger on the trigger and fire." The deputy said while backing away.

Regina did everything she did the first time, but when she fired she missed.

"Ah, no, I missed!" She said disappointed

Emma walked over to Regina, "Okay, I think it's my turn now, isn't it?"

"No, I'm not done yet." Regina said while resisting her wife's tries to get the gun.

"It's my turn."

"No, I'm not done." They pulled at the gun like it was a toy, seeing this Ruby decided to intervene before anyone got hurt.

She split them up and took the gun. "Hey, hey this thing is loaded. I'm going to have give you to two a gun safety class." She said while coking the gun before handing it to Emma. "Emma's turn now."

"Thank you." Emma said while taking the gun and getting into the same position Regina was, only moments ago. Regina glared at her wife, _this isn't over Swan!_ She said to herself.

"Just relax, find your target" Ruby repeated 3 times trying to get Emma to stop being so tense. Emma just nodded while Regina shifted her weight from foot to foot as she waited for Emma to shoot. Of course Emma had done this before but because she never was really good at it and since she became police chief she never used a firearm. She also never had used a shotgun, so for her this was new territory.

"Squeeze easy." Ruby said just as Emma fired.

"Damn it!" She yelled while holding her shoulder. Regina had to cover her mouth to keep herself from laughing at her wife, she thought to herself _Idiot._ "Oh god that hurt, agony." She said while holding her shoulder that hurt like hell.

"Well yeah." Ruby said while rubbing her neck as Emma had messed up, and not listened to what Belle told Regina.

Regina couldn't take it anymore, she started to laugh.

"Could you take this for a second…" Emma said while handing the gun to Belle, "I think I really hurt my shoulder. Regina I think I have a welt." Emma said while pulling her shirt so Regina could see.

She just laughed, while both Ruby and Belle laughed along as Emma exaggerated her injuries.

 **Back at the doctor's office, in the princess room**

"It's really easy to hurt yourself, shooting." Jefferson said while rotating Emma's shoulder. Regina just stood behind her wife with the world's biggest grin.

"I didn't" Regina said gleefully.

"Could you just go outside, I don't play with a toy." Emma said turning to look at her wife who was enjoying this too much. Jefferson just smiled at Regina.

After a couple of seconds of silence, Jefferson decided to pipe up.

"So you ever shoot before Regina?"

"Nope, never even held a gun before. Although I could have used one during some tense negotiations at work; I'm real-estate broker."

Jefferson let go of Emma's shoulder. "Are you kidding?"

"Nope" Regina said proudly.

Jefferson then went to the table and took out a paper. "My mother is getting older and she is trying to sell her house…" he said as he walked over to Regina to show her the ad.

Emma just turned to look at the interaction because she was being ignored at the moment and she was the patient. They discussed while Emma sat there and just watched. Regina was giving him advice on how to get more bids on the house.

"Would mind coming to take a look at the place?" Hatter said, seeing that Regina was giving him so much advice maybe she could help.

"No not at all."

Jefferson now beaming turned to Emma. "Think you could spare her Emma?"

"Yeah, yeah no problem I'm used to being separated." She said sadly. Regina looked up from the listing and at her wife when she heard what she said. She felt a little guilty and kind of happy that the blonde missed her. An awkward silence filled the room before Emma corrected herself. "The shoulder I mean."

The doctor then patted her bad shoulder. "Oh, it's just a tiny little bruise that wouldn't even hurt a school girl."

"Owww!" Emma said while flinching at the pain of the doctor's touch.


	9. Chapter 9

**About 25 minutes later at the cabin.**

Belle was quietly taking out her frustrations of the day by chopping wood. Emma after returning from the doctor's decided to join the deputy out back and hopefully alleviate some of her own stress and frustrations as well.

"Hey" the blonde said while approaching Belle who was surrounded by pile of chopped wood and was reaching for another piece.

"Hey, how's your arm?" Belle said finally looking up at the blonde.

"Oh, it's nothing;" Emma said trying to play it cool and act all tuff "I only went to the doctor's because Regina was so worried."

Belle looked at her skeptically, knowing full well what Emma was trying to do. Silence then filled the air. "Can I…um help you with that?" Emma said trying to be useful.

"Yeah, sure if you're feeling up to it."

"Yeah no problem." Emma said while picking up the other ax which laid beside the brunette's newly formed pile. She then mimicked Belle and grabbed a piece of wood to chop. She gave a big swing and the ax struck the wood hard. Emma then tried to split it/ take the ax back out, but she had swung so hard that it got stuck. She watched as Belle did with ease what she was trying to do. Emma was really struggling.

"So, I really just wanted to… um apologize for trouble we may have caused you guys. I know there is a lot of screaming and shouting." Emma then placed the wood on the ground and tried to use her foot to somehow remove the ax; she was failing at it.

"Oh, that's okay. I know what it's like, me and Ruby had some real big ones." Belle said as she continued to add to the ever growing pile of wood while Emma was still on her first one.

Slightly shocked by the brunette's admission she decides being the cop she is, to dig a little deeper. "Really?! That's actually really great… um not great because you know… it's comforting to hear because you two seem so happy." Emma said internally hoping her and Regina could get to that point.

"Well, we are happy, but that doesn't mean we haven't almost killed each other a few times." Belle said while splitting yet another piece of wood while Emma had dedicated her attention to the conversation and was more focus on the brunette in front of her rather than the log that the ax was still lodged into it.

"Really?" the blonde said curiously because since they arrived, she hadn't seen the couple even bicker once. "How did you two fix things…if you don't mind me asking?"

Belle paused her chopping so she could concentrate on the conversation. "Well, um she bought me a new Remington with Belle engraved on it. She also got my favorite author to sign a copy and it has a little dedication to me in it."

Emma knew that she couldn't copy Ruby and give Regina a gun because she didn't like that sort of stuff, _I have to find a different way, and I'm not giving up_ she thought to herself. "Oh…yeah."

"Yeah, there was this one time we were really going at it; it something about her mother, it's not important, but it got to the point where we were hardly even taking to each other. And um… She asked me out on a date." Belle said while smiling at the memory before returning to her task of chopping. A light bulb went off inside Emma's head _That's perfect, she'll love it._ "A date?" Emma said slightly grinning at her new found idea.

"Yup, just like two love sick teenagers. She asked me out, we went out to dinner and we talked; it worked like magic."

"Interesting…Well speaking of work, I think we are done here," Emma said while placing the ax and the log attached back where she originally found the ax. She gave up trying to separate it. "I'll um catch you later." Emma said as she started to walk back towards the cabin. She had to start planning what to do on her date.

 **Across town at Jefferson's mother's house**

Regina and Jefferson were taking to a lovely little family about the house.

"As you can see the whole railing is new; that's thanks to Jefferson here…" Regina said while flashing a genuine smile. She was doing what she loved to do.

Emma noticed just how relax and happy her wife was when she was walking up towards the house; she was going to follow what Belle had told her. Emma loved to see how her wife was finally opening up. It was like the incident never happened; she just wished she was like this always.

"Okay well you can on inside and take a look." Regina said motioning for the family to enter the quaint little home and explore a little more. The family had a little girl; she stayed beside Regina while the rest of the group went inside.

"I'm going to stay with you!" The little said to Regina as the little blonde sat on the grass.

"You're going to stay with me?" Regina said warmly while flashing the young girl a real genuine smile that took Emma's breath away every time she saw it. Regina crouched down next to the girl while playing with her. Emma saw how content her wife was with the little girl. Emma looked at her wife with so much love in that moment.

"Hey before we go and take your boots off, why don't you go explore the house." Regina said while turning slightly to motion towards the house and that's when she saw Emma. "I'll be right back" she said flashing the girl another breathtaking smile. Once the girl had gone and rejoined her family, Regina started to make her way over to her wife who had her hands shoved into her front pockets while slightly biting her bottom lip. Seeing her wife starting to walk over, Emma decided to meet her halfway. Once they came to a stop in front of each other, Emma noticed that there was still a little bit of a smile left on Regina's gorgeous face.

"Hey, what's up?" Regina said while wondering what Emma was doing here.

"This might sound a little weird…"

"Hmmm"

"But…um…Would like to go on a date with me?" Emma asked hopefully.

"You know that does sound strange." Regina said a little taken back by the question. _A date?_ she thought to herself.

"Well, it's kind of been awhile since we went out together for dinner…" Emma started to explain when Regina decided to butt in.

"Well, we just had dinner in New York?" Regina said

"And I thought that went well right up until the murder." Emma said trying to make a joke.

At that moment Jefferson stepped out onto the porch of the house, wondering what was taking Regina so long. "Hey Regina, are you coming?"

"Regina then turned to the man "Yeah, I'll be there in a sec." The man then turned and went back into the house. "Sorry…" Regina said

"Um, shall we say 7:30 at Granny's; I was told that it was the only place to eat in town, literally. It will be…um a chance to talk like we used to before the infidelity and the separation; I will pay." Emma said trying to convince her wife as best she could.

"Well if you're going to pay." Regina said while flashing a genuine smile. _I'm actually excited_ she thought to herself.

Both women then went there separate ways, both looking forward to this evening. Little did they know that this date was indeed going to help fix things between them.


	10. Chapter 10

**At Granny's**

Emma and Regina had been sitting in an awkward silence; both were clearly excited and nervous for date night. Emma decided to take the opportunity to break the ice.

"You look very nice tonight Gina." Emma said while looking at her drop dead gorgeous wife who decided to wear a tight black dress that hugged all of her curves. Emma just went with a nice purple plaid with light blue undertones.

"You too" Regina said while blushing a little at her wife's complement. _She looks amazing in that plaid, god…her muscles at bulging_ she thought to herself.

"And I know you said no more presents, but in spirit of date night, I got you something" Emma then reached into the pocket of her favorite leather jacket which was placed on the back of her chair and pulled out a cd case "I went online under Belle's supervision and download a cd of New York noises; subways, car horns, woman fighting in Bloomingdales … I think you might be on there." she sayed jokingly.

Regina took the Cd from Emma's hands and turned over a few times _what a thoughtful gesture, this is so nice._ Regina looked upon the cd and her wife lovingly with a genuine smile on her face.

"Thank you"

"Your welcome"

Tink Bell walked over in an apron with two plates of leafy greens.

"Two salads" she sayed while placing a salad in front of each of the women

"Thanks Miss Bell," Regina said and the waitress just hummed in approval "Oh um actually I asked to have mine with the dressing on the side"

"I thought you were kidding"

"Yeah I know that always gets a laugh" Regina said sarcastically

Tink just giggled

"Have you been a waitress a long time, Tink?" Emma asked trying to make conversation with the girl

"Forever" She said with a sigh "I can't just get by on nursing because there are not enough sick people in town" she said

"Oh that sucks" Emma said sympathizing with girl because she remembers having to work two jobs and that was rough

"Oh it's not too bad, most people in StoryBrooke have two jobs some have three. I'm also assistant fire chief" the young woman said gleefully

"Oh really?" Regina said surprised and relived while slightly turning "Then could ask the older woman behind us to politely please put out his cigarette?"

Tink turned to see to whom Regina was referring to when she spotted them "Oh no, I can't do that, that's Granny Lucas, she owns the place."

Regina then turned to face Granny and younger woman also sitting at the table. "Excuse me," she waited until she had the woman's attention. "Hi, I'm Regina Foster-Ruby's cousin and this is my wife Emma. We're visiting from New York."

"Well nice to meet you, I'm Granny Lucas and this is my daughter Anita." The grey-haired woman said while pointing to the younger brunette sitting across from her.

"I was wondering if you would mind blowing smoke perhaps in another direction."

"Hm, New York? I don't know how you do things in New York but this is StoryBrooke and we don't take kindly to strangers trying to tell us how to live." She said with a glare.

The rest of the meal was passed quietly.

 **Outside Granny's After the meal**

Regina and Emma walked out of Granny's just as Jefferson was about to walk in.

"Hey Fosters, how are you doing?"

"Good, just enjoyed a nice quiet meal at Granny's"

Jefferson laughed "Must be Granny Lucas's night off. Do you guys need a ride?"

"Well, we just need to call Belle and Ruby, they said they would pick us up." Emma said

"Well, they are playing poker with the Happys and the Dopeys. Here just take my truck." He said as he pointed to a black pick up.

"We couldn't do that"

"Well, I don't need until tomorrow, door's open and the keys are inside." He said as he shrugged nonchalantly

"really?" Emma said in disbelief

"Around here, everyone leaves their keys in case someone needs a ride. You don't do that in the city?"

"Well people do take each other's cars…" Emma responded

"The return policy is a little bit fuzzy." Regina said completing Emma's sentence.

"Well you be sure to return mine." He said jokingly as he opened the door to granny's

"Sure, thank you so much Doc" Emma said

They both got into the car that Jefferson had said was his. Emma decided to drive against Regina's wish; she didn't really let Emma drive when they were together.

She started upon the engine and they were on their way.

 **About 20 minutes later, on a dirt road**

"are we lost?" Regina asked smugly as she already knew the answer.

"definitely not; I turned right at the broken fence…"

"And left at the second big rock?" Regina asked inquisitively

Emma pondered a few seconds before she answered "Second big rock?"

Regina then turned back in her seat to face forward and pursed her lips. A slow grin formed on her lips. Emma then slowly brought the car to a stop "Then we are lost" the blonde said sadly.

"You know what I'm going to turn around here." She said as she put the truck in reverse and backed it up and turned around.

"Can I ask you something?" Regina said as she looked at Emma waiting for her to respond

"Yeah" Emma said as she stopped to car before she took off in the other direction

"Why her?"

Emma then turned and looked her wife straight in the eyes.

"You want have this talk now, in the middle of absolutely nowhere?"

"Yeah I know it's probably not the time" as she looked down at her hands "but why her? You meet lots of men, you are always at lunches and meetings so why her? Is it just because she was pretty?" she said as she looked back up into the blue-green orbs she adored

"Um, who said she was pretty, on a scale of 1-10 she was like a 2, she was hideous actually…" Emma started to ramble

"I googled her."

"oh…"

"yeah, I just looked under loose legal ladies….she's pretty…" Regina said looking down and wringing her hands. _Prettier than me_ she thought.

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"so, what's she like?" Regina said trying to break the silence

"she's reserved, quiet."

"Yeah, I can see that. It makes sense. It was probably like going to a spa; very quiet, cool, laid back and nobody nagging you or asking questions like some woodpecker who just won't let anything go and keeps pecking at a problem..." Regina herself was starting to ramble

"It wasn't, it was nothing…. nothing…. I was stupid…. I had a few drinks, I was upset about us and it just happened. I did not enjoy because I was feeling guilty the whole time and her perfume smelled like a burrito."

Regina scoffed.

"And you are the most sexy and exciting woman, I have ever or ever wish to be with." Emma said looking Regina right in the eyes so she could try and show her just how true that statement was.

After a few minutes of silence, Regina looked at Emma "I sort of believe"

Emma looked so nervous, but relieved. "good…"

Regina laughed and smiled her beautiful smile. Emma just kept thinking _Look at that smile, I wonder if she knows just how beautiful she looks. God, I love her._

"progress" Emma said hopefully as they started to take off. They were back on their way.

"Maybe it wasn't the fragrance, maybe she just smells like a burrito." Regina said as she grinned devilishly.

"very possible"

Little did they know, but they were on the road to recovery.


End file.
